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A story of success from Innsbruck 1988 to Beijing 2022, with an extraordinary number of champions who have taken the Italian flag to the highest platform on the Paralympic podium
Italy’s career at the Paralympics began a long time ago and it has evolved one step at a time thanks to the performance of the great talents and champions who have written the history of Italian sport.
Cagol came home empty handed but paved the way
The first step came with Maurizio Cagol, the only Italian to compete in the 1980 Games in Geilo, coming 32nd in the giant slalom and 22nd in the slalom 1A. Despite not winning any medals, he had the great honour of paving the way to the 16 gold medals that Italy would eventually win.
Innsbruck 1988: the Italian flag turns gold
Bruno Oberhammer would come close in 1984, again in Innsbruck. He had to settle for bronze in the Alpine combined, but this was a historic moment: the first medal won by Italy in the Winter Paralympics.
His dream would come true four years later, when he won gold in the downhill and giant slalom B3 (visual field between 5 and 20 degrees). In the same category, Paolo Lorenzini then stood on the podium for the 30-km para cross-country skiing event.
Nagano 1998: no stopping Oberhammer, Zanotti has reason to celebrate
Ten years that seemed longer would pass between the 1992 Paralympics in Albertville and the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, during which time Italian athletes got good results, but no gold medals.
At Nagano in 1998, Oberhammer still had a few surprises in store however, winning gold in the B1 slalom (with a bronze for Gianmaria Dal Maistro). He retired the following year and joined the ranks of the greatest names in the history of the Italian Paralympics. Another two gold medals were then won in Japan by Angelo Zanotti, who has no light perception in either eye. He had already achieved excellent results in the Summer Paralympics in Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992, but Nagano was where he became a Paralympic champion, winning the giant slalom and super G B1.
Salt Lake City 2002: Ruepp brings home a double and Zardini hits a high note
Italy sent 13 athletes to the Paralympics in Salt Lake City. The star in this Mormon state was Roland Ruepp, who, after his debut in Lillehammer and a silver medal in Nagano, was well pleased with two gold medals, one for the 5-km sit-ski and another a few days later for the 10-km sit-ski, both in the LW11 category (lower limb disability).
There was also time for another success with Fabrizio Zardini at the top of the podium in the super G LW11.
Turin 2006: Gianmaria finally does it, Silvia adds one medal after another
Plenty of Paralympic successes, but the top prize had always been just out of reach. Gianmaria Dal Maistro came to Turin with the goal of finally taking home a gold after winning three silvers and a bronze.
The cards still seemed stacked against him in the super G B3, when he finished behind the German Gerd Gradwohl. However, the latter was subsequently disqualified for not keeping the regulation distance with his guide and the gold medal was finally Gianmaria’s.
The Italian Paralympics also brought another historical moment, this time thanks to Silvia Parente. This wasn’t her first time at the Paralympics either, as she had won a bronze at Lillehammer, but on home ground she had her eyes on something even better. She achieved it by winning the giant slalom B1, the first Italian woman in history to win a gold medal at the Winter Paralympics, and then went on to win another three bronze medals in the downhill, super G and slalom.
Vancouver 2010: Francesca becomes a legend
After a very satisfying Turin 2006, the Italian team had to work harder in Canada. The last day of the Vancouver Paralympics came and Italy had sadly still not won any gold medals.
The badly needed turning point came with Francesca Porcellato, a medal specialist. Her collection counted five for athletics at the Summer Paralympics (the first in Seoul 1988), but she had never achieved a place on the podium at the Winter Games. She did it however in the 1-km para cross-country sprint in the LW10-12 category. This marked her forever as an Italian sporting legend.
Pyeongchang and Beijing: Bertagnolli enters the history books
Plenty of Paralympic successes, but the top prize had always been just out of reach. Gianmaria Dal Maistro came to Turin with the goal of finally taking home a gold after winning three silvers and a bronze.
The cards still seemed stacked against him in the super G B3, when he finished behind the German Gerd Gradwohl. However, the latter was subsequently disqualified for not keeping the regulation distance with his guide and the gold medal was finally Gianmaria’s.
The Italian Paralympics also brought another historical moment, this time thanks to Silvia Parente. This wasn’t her first time at the Paralympics either, as she had won a bronze at Lillehammer, but on home ground she had her eyes on something even better. She achieved it by winning the giant slalom B1, the first Italian woman in history to win a gold medal at the Winter Paralympics, and then went on to win another three bronze medals in the downhill, super G and slalom.
